On His Own
by Just-Met-A-Girl-Named-Maria
Summary: ...Maria was the only thing that seemed right. Her small delicate body, her lively eyes, her radiant smile. When she walked in the room, she lit up the place like the sun. Chino smiled to himself. The beautiful Maria was his. Until Tony came along.


_I wrote this a while back, just came across it. I always thought that Chino really did love Maria, so I wrote this. Some of this is a play on some of Eponine's lines from Les Miserables. I did that on purpose haha. Please review and tell me what you think!_

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On His Own

"If it is the last thing I do, I am going to get that Tony!" Chino shouted to his Sharks. _His _Sharks. He was left in charge after Bernardo had been killed. Killed. Bernardo was killed. And Chino was going to get that murderer. He was going to stop him.

He roamed the streets, searching every possible corner for Tony. When he got to him…boy was he going to make him suffer. He had killed his best friend…and he had taken away the thing he loved most in this world. Maria. Maria was the only thing that seemed right. Her small delicate body, her lively eyes, her radiant smile. When she walked in the room, she lit up the place like the sun. Chino smiled to himself. The beautiful Maria was his. Until Tony came along.

Tony had won Maria's heart in a day. That was something Chino couldn't do in months. Chino balled his hands into fists. The thought of that creep with his hands on _his _Maria…it was enough to make him scream. Chino remembered telling Maria what happened to Bernardo. The first thing she had asked was what happened to Tony. Every word that she said was a dagger in him. Not only did she care more about Tony than her own brother, but she cared more about Tony than him. She didn't bother to ask if _he _was alright. That night he wanted nothing more than for her to run into his arms, weeping for her brother, and to just hold her. He just wanted to hold her, and stroke her beautiful hair, and tell her everything was going to be alright. He wanted her to want him. He wanted her to beg for him not to let go, to say that she loved him.

But those were words she'd never say. Not to him. Chino had run away so furious…he had only shouted at her and ran away. At night he still heard her screams…_Chino__…you are lying! You are lying __Chino__! _He shivered again. Had he not been so furious he would have run back to her and held her…but he let his anger take over, and he simply ran away. And he was letting his anger take over again. He was walking through the streets looking for his target that he was going to kill.

Was he really going to do this? Was he really going to kill someone? He really wasn't any better than Tony if he did…he would break Maria's heart…she might never forgive him. She would be completely devastated. Where would this all get him anyway? Jail. A place in Maria's heart that would hate him with all her heart for the rest of her life. If he killed Tony, the only person he would really be hurting was himself.

But then he thought of Bernardo. He had to avenge him. Wouldn't he do the same? And if Tony was out of the picture, Maria was his. Maria would never have to know he was the one who killed him. She would only cry, and who would be there to comfort her? He would of course. He would always be there for her. And no matter how long it took, he would wait. He would wait for her to be ready, and then she would be his. They could finally be together, like they were always supposed to. Chino smiled to himself. After being put through so much pain, seeing the girl he adored care about someone else, it was all going to be worth it when she finally loved him.

He closed his eyes and pictured her beside him, holding his hand and smiling her bubbly smile and giggling in the adorable way that she did. Her hand was so soft and delicate. It felt so right. Having her beside him was the only thing that felt right anymore.

Suddenly there was a noise that he had been longing to hear.

"CHINO! COME AND GET ME TOO CHINO!" it was Tony. What was he doing? He was _calling _him. He was _asking _for him to kill him. And Chino wasn't the kind of person to let someone down. He followed the sound of Tony's screaming until it got louder and louder. Finally in the distance, he could see him on the fence.

"I…I want ya to…" his voice was suddenly quieter, and Chino swore he heard the sound of sobbing. Chino began to run toward him, his gun at the ready.

"Tony!"

Chino froze. That voice was all too familiar. It was Maria.

"Maria?" Tony said, coming out from behind the fence.

Maria was there. Chino couldn't kill him now. Maria would see, and she would never forgive him.

"**Maria!**" he watched them run to each other. He looked at Maria's face. Chino had never made her smile like that. She had never called his name like that. Then Chino realized. She would never love him. He was foolish. How could Maria, who was made so happy by this Polack, ever love the boy she was forced to marry by her parents?

"Maria!"

And now they were both going to suffer. Tony was going to die…and Maria was going to watch it happen. In his insane rage, Chino bolted forward and fired the gun, just as they reached each other.

He watched as Maria's joy turned into bewilderment as Tony collapsed in her arms. They both fell onto the concrete ground, and Maria cradled him in her arms. A small crowd was starting to gather due to the sound of the gunshot. If Chino had any sense, he would get out of there. But he found himself unable to stop watching them.

They were mumbling to each other, until Tony went limp in her arms. Maria was still in shock, still not entirely realizing what had just happened. She kept looking at him, and then it all hit her. She laid him down gently. People began to rush in, but something stopped them.

"_Stay back,_"

Chino jumped. If he had not seen who said it, he never would have known that was Maria. She stood up and walked over to Chino. She looked at him with utter disgust and held out her hand. He cringed at the way she looked at her. He put the gun in her hands, and prepared himself for the worst. Either she was going to shoot him, or herself. He was praying that it would be him.

"How do you fire this gun, Chino?" she muttered, turning it around in her hands.

"Just by pulling this little trigger?" she suddenly was pointing the gun at him. "How many bullets are left Chino? Is there one for you? And you?" she was now waving it around wildly. "_All_ of you? _We all killed him!_" she screamed. Chino watched shamefully, guilt burning all over. "And my brother and Riff, Not with bullets or guns, but with _hate! _I too…" she looked around with an insane look in her eye. "I can kill to, because _I have hate now!_" There were tears streaming down her face and she turned back to Chino. "How many can I kill Chino…How many?" she was walking towards him with the gun pointing right at his head. "And still have one bullet left for me?"

The gun suddenly fell out of her hands, and she collapsed on the floor in hysterical tears. Chino watched her painfully. _Was it worth it __Chino__? _He asked himself. _Are you proud of yourself? _No. he wasn't. He was ashamed. So ashamed…he just wanted to die. He wanted to take that gun and shoot himself. He was holding back so much. It was taking all the strength he had not to rush to Maria and hold her. He just wanted to take away all her pain. But to do that, he would have to bring Tony back to life. He would have to bring to life someone that he killed. It was all his fault. The girl he loved with all his heart was going to be in absolute misery for the rest of her life because of him.

Lieutenant Schrank moved in towards Tony but Maria went running to him like a madwoman. "Don't you TOUCH HIM!" she shrieked, throwing herself onto his body. Chino looked over at the Lieutenant and nodded his head, and he came over and pulled his hands behind his back and cuffed them together. Maria kissed Tony's head and whispered something Chino couldn't hear. Then Jets and Sharks alike all rushed forward to help carry his body out of the playground. Maria stayed on the ground with her head bowed. Baby John walked forward and gently placed her mourning shawl on her head. When everyone else had walked away, Maria stood up and followed them proudly, despite the tears still flowing out of her eyes. Chino watched her walk away, taking in her every feature. It would be the last time he would ever see her. He would spend the rest of his life wondering if she was alright…wondering if she ever thought of him…wondering if she ever might have loved him…

As Schrank slammed the door to the police car, Chino felt hot tears spill out of his eyes. He would spend his whole life in agony, never seeing her again. The only thing that he was certain of had just walked out of his life forever. And he was the one who shoved her out the door. He would forever wonder what it would be like to hold her, what it would be like to be loved by her, what it would be like to kiss her soft lips…

He would never know. He loved her, but only _on his own_.


End file.
